The inflatable chicken, which features a golden coif of hair and hand gestures similar to Trump's, is modeled after a statue unveiled in December as the mascot for a Chinese mall. Since the statue's unveiling last year, smaller copies have appeared across the United States.

The inflatable chicken that appeared Wednesday appears to have been put up near the Ellipse area by the White House that is open to the public.

Trump was not in the White House when the chicken was placed. Instead, the president is on a 17-day working vacation at his golf resort in Bedminster, N.J.